Three Baseball Firsts

Tonight was the Oak Park Youth Softball/Baseball organization’s annual trip to Sox Park. I took Erin and Drew with me. Erin’s a die-hard White Sox fan, and Drew, being the t-ball player, was the one that got us through the door. All the OPYSB players and coaches get to walk out on the field, parade style. It’s always a great event. Tonight, however, was magical from the very beginning.

You can always tell the rookie players – they’re the ones who are wearing enormous grins on their faces as they jog out for warm-ups. They still can’t believe they get to wear a major league uniform. Aaron Pedora was just called up from AA ball, and tonight was his first night in a White Sox uniform. You could see as he left the dugout for the first time that he’s thrilled just to be on the field, and that he was trying to savor this first night of play. We caught his eye and waved, and he jogged over and started signing autographs. Erin got her hat signed. We hope that he follows in the footsteps of another Sox pitcher who went from AA to the majors…Bobby Jenks.

Another Sox player, Gordon Beckham, is also in his rookie season and he’s been struggling offensively. I cannot even imagine the pressure on these guys when they get up to bat, but to be hitless in the majors your rookie season…well, that’s gotta be rough. And yet tonight, to the delight of all the fans there, Beckham hit a solid shot to the outfield and got on base. The scoreboard recognized his achievement and the fans not only cheered, they gave him a standing ovation. When the cameras zoomed in on the rookie, he was grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying his first hit in his first season of play in the Majors.

And, the sweetest of the firsts: Drew acquired his first home run game ball. It happened in the 10th inning of play. The game was tied at 6-all, and the Tigers were up to bat. Miguel Cabrera was in an 0-for-12 slump. The pitch from Linebrink was in and BAM! A solid shot to center field. Sox CF Brian Anderson leapt up the wall to try for the catch but it was too far gone. The ball dropped in the well between center field and the bleachers. There were about 30 boys from Oak Park who were right there, and they watched the ball fall out of reach.

While the rest of the boys stood around and chatted about the homerun that put the Tigers up 7-6, Drew was over by the Sox bullpen talking up the security guard, trying to get autographs.. As I’ve mentioned before, Drew will talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The security guard was pretty much ignoring him, but Drew was not to be deterred. When Drew saw where that home run ball had landed, he asked the security guard to get it for him. There was no response. After awhile Drew finally gave it up and walked back to the center field bleachers.

A few minutes later, the security guard walked on over and picked up the ball. The boys in the bleachers went wild, each one vying to better position himself as a candidate for the ball. The security guard stepped back and acted like he was going to put the ball in his pocket and walk away. His eyes scanned the pack of boys until he found Drew. “YOU,” he said. “Was it you who asked about the ball?”

“Yes! It was me! I’m the one who asked you.”

The security guard put that home run ball straight into Drew’s glove. And totally made the night of an 8-year-old-boy.

Seeing the look on Drew’s face as he broke away from the crowd of boys with his first ever game ball – a home run ball no less – I knew Drew was as excited over his baseball first as Pedero and Beckham were of theirs. There’s just something magical about ballpark memories.

Now, if only the Sox had won!